Tokyo Metro 01 series
The 01 series is a Japanese city commuter electric multiple unit. Built from 1983 to 1997 for the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (now known as Tokyo Metro), the 01 series was used on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line from 1984 to replace the aging 2000 series sets, until the 01 series sets were retired themselves. History The 01 series was a completely new design that was conceived in 1983 to help improve the appearance of trains on the Ginza Line. The first set, pre-production set 1, was built in May 1983, delivered in September 1983 and entered service on 31 December 1983 on an overnight operation (technically, it entered service at 12:15am JST the next day). The original plan was for the 01 series to enter service in fall 1984 when production sets were being produced in volume. The 01 series sets are the first in the "0x series" sets that were ordered by the TRTA which were meant to replace older trains on the various lines operated by the TRTA. When originally introduced, the 01 series sets introduced a variety of never before-seen features that were well-liked by commuters, such as electronic door chimes and an electronic route map. When the TRTA was dissolved in 2004, ownership of the 38 sets was handed over to Tokyo Metro. As the years went on, the 01 series sets' age began to show, and they were slowly replaced by 1000 series sets starting in 2012; the last set, set 30, was retired from regular service on 10 March 2017, and was officially retired with an invitation-only final run on 12 March 2017. All sets were based at Ueno Depot for the entirety of their service lives. Four cars and one cab end are preserved; cars 01-101, 01-201 and 01-601 from set 1 are preserved as a training vehicle for use in Nakano Depot in Tokyo, and car 01-630 from set 30 is preserved at the University of Tokyo's Institute of Industrial Science Chiba Experiment Station in Chiba Prefecture, Tokyo, where it is used on the Institute's 0.333 kilometer (0.21 mi) test track. The sectioned cab end of car 01-129 of set 29 is preserved at the Metro Museum in Edogawa, Tokyo. Four more cars, cars 01-135 and 01-635 from set 35 and cars 01-136 and 01-636 from set 36 were sold to the Kumamoto Electric Railway in 2015 to make two two-car sets and entered service there from 16 March 2015. Design The 01 series uses a fairly modern design with an unpainted body made of an extruded aluminum alloy. Metal inert gas welding is used to improve quality of construction and lower costs. Specifications Construction is of an extruded aluminum alloy. Cars are 16 meters long, 2.55 meters wide and 3.465 meters high. The first thirty-six sets use a gate turn-off thyristor chopper system manufactured by Mitsubishi, Toshiba and Hitachi which produce a high-pitched whine which steps up in pitch. Set 37, constructed in 1993 by Nippon Sharyo, used a three-level insulated gate bipolar transistor traction system manufactured by Mitsubishi which produced a hissing sound which increased in intensity; car 01-237's traction system was replaced with a pure silicon carbide MOSFET-based traction system also manufactured by Mitsubishi in December 2011 which produced a soft hissing sound while the remaining cars' traction systems remained as is. The set was scrapped in January 2016. Set 38, constructed in 1997 by Kinki Sharyo, used a three-level IGBT traction system manufactured by Toshiba which produced a high-pitched squealing noise; car 01-238's traction motors were replaced with permanent magnetic synchronous motors and a new IGBT system also manufactured by Toshiba around fall 2007 which produced a very distinctive sound while the remaining cars' traction systems remained as is. The set was scrapped in August 2013. References *Wikipedia.org Category:Tokyo Metro trains Category:Electric Trainsets Category:Kawasaki locomotives Category:Kinki Sharyo locomotives Category:Nippon Sharyo locomotives Category:Tokyu Car locomotives Category:TRTA trains